Another Life
by Zebediah
Summary: What happens after "The End"? A Sideways tale, featuring Ben Linus and David Shepherd. One-shot.


**Another Life**

Benjamin Linus sat outside the old stone church, staring at the closed doorway. He was so absorbed in his own thoughts that he barely noticed when a teenaged boy with a big yellow Labrador retriever on a red leash walked towards him. It wasn't until the dog nuzzled his hand that Ben's mind came back to the present.

"Oh, hello, Vincent," he said, fondly scratching the dog's ears. Vincent happily sat down beside Ben, enjoying the attention.

"And hello, David," Ben continued. "I didn't know you were here too."

David Shepherd grinned. "Yeah, I've been here all along. Hugo gave me a job to do, and it's kept me pretty busy."

Ben nodded, staring at the church door again. "That's Hugo for you. Always giving people things to do. So what were you doing?"

"Being a shepherd," David said. "Literally. I was Jack and Juliet's son."

Ben suddenly sat up straight, his eyes widening. "Oh, God, David, I'm sorry!"

David laughed. "It wasn't really that bad."

"No, that's not what I mean," Ben protested. "Your parents. Both of them are in there!"

It was David's turn to look at the closed door. "Yeah, I know," he said. After a long, silent moment, he added, "It's okay. Last time around, I lost my parents at an even younger age."

"But still..." Ben said, looking at the boy with concern in his eyes.

"So my job here is done," David continued. "I just have a few loose ends to tie up before I move on. Like Vincent here," he said, giving the dog an affectionate pat. "Rose asked me to take care of him until I can get him to Walt."

Ben nodded slowly. "Poor doggy," he said softly. "Always having to look after a bunch of screwed-up humans."

"He likes it," David countered. "And he didn't have it so bad this time. He was with Bernard and Rose since he was a puppy."

"Good for him," Ben said. "Do you need any help? Walt's living in New York, I think."

"I can handle it," David assured him.

"And he's nine or ten years old, if I remember right," Ben added. "Living with his dad, who's going to need a _lot_ of work."

David laughed, and then sat down on the bench beside Ben. "Wow. Walt as a little kid. _That's_ going to be weird."

Ben chuckled softly, looking at David. "A bit of role reversal, you mean?"

"He always seemed so much... bigger than me, and older," David said. "Wiser. Like he knew things I didn't."

"Walt always knew things other people didn't," Ben said. "Even when he was a kid. Later on, when he came back... I still remember how mad Rose was when Walt showed up on the Island with you and all those other kids in tow, saying he had a job to do."

"And I remember what Hugo told her," David said, his eyes shining. "'Dude, it's okay. It'll work out.' I always thought it was funny that he called a woman old enough to be his mother 'Dude'."

"He called everybody 'Dude'," Ben said. "Men, women, children, even Vincent here." Vincent looked up at Ben and wagged his tail when he heard his name.

"And he was right," David said. "About it all working out. Well, mostly, anyway."

"Mostly, yes." Ben sounded unconvinced. "I suppose. In the long run. I'm going to miss him."

"So you're not going with them?" David asked, glancing towards the church door.

Ben shook his head. "No," he said, his voice barely audible. "I'm not ready yet."

David nodded, saying nothing.

"Besides," Ben said, with the glimmer of a tear in his eyes, "I'd really, really like to see Alex grow up this time." He turned to look at David. "Do you think I can do that?" he asked. "Do you think, this time around..."

"Dude, it's okay," David said when Ben's voice faltered. "It'll work out."

Ben nodded, choking back a sob. "Thank you," he eventually managed to say.

David smiled. "Don't thank me," he said. "This whole place? Hugo's idea. I just came along to help out."

Ben sighed. "I still don't quite get how it all works," he confessed. "What happens to those of us who stay behind. If this place isn't quite real..."

"Oh, it's real enough," David assured him. "Every bit as real as the Island was, anyway. What happens here, counts, until we're ready to move on."

"Good," Ben said. "I was afraid it would all... end, or something like that."

David shook his head. "It doesn't end, old friend," he said. "We just keep making progress, that's all. You, me, Hugo, even Aaron."

Ben turned back towards the church door, looking thoughtful. "Aaron went with them, you know."

"I know. We all talked about it, and we decided that Aaron would have a better chance with Claire and Charlie," David explained. "I mean, it's not all that surprising that a kid with his mom in a mental hospital and Kate and Sawyer for step-parents would end up pretty screwed up, is it? Maybe this time, with his real mother raising him, he'll turn out all right."

"That's awfully generous, considering what he did to you," Ben observed.

David shrugged. "I'm not so sure I didn't have it coming," he admitted. "Besides, there's no progress without struggle, is there?"

"I guess not," Ben said. "So now what? What comes next?"

David rose to his feet. "I have to get going," he said. "Vincent and I have a plane to catch."

Ben nodded. "And me... I guess I go back to living my life." He sighed, and added, "A perfectly ordinary one."

"It's not so bad being ordinary, is it?" David asked. "Look what you have to look forward to."

"I get to go home and change my father's oxygen tank," Ben said. "And tomorrow I go back to teaching high school. Tomorrow night I'm having dinner with Richard and Isabella – they want to know all about Danielle, and..." He blinked, then looked thoughtful. "No, I guess that's not so bad after all," he conceded.

David smiled. "There you go. Progress."

"But then what?" Ben asked. "After all of this is done, and I'm ready to move on... what then?"

"You know I can't answer that," David chided. "All I can say is – see you in another life."

Ben seemed to deflate, but he nodded in understanding. "Until next time, then."

"Come on, Vincent," David said. Vincent rose to his feet and trotted along, tail wagging, beside David as they walked off.

But then David turned back towards Ben and called, "Oh, Ben? One more thing. No guarantees, but if I had to guess, I'd say that next time around, you get to be Alex's dad for real. Just a feeling."

Then he turned away and was gone.

Ben, alone once more, sat on the stone bench in silence for a long time. Then, with a smile on his face, he stood up and began walking home.


End file.
